Toto Wolff makes his feelings known about Lewis Hamilton's disastrous final season with Mercedes

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has made it clear that Lewis Hamilton's legacy with the team would be unaffected by a disastrous final season with the team. The British driver was with the team from 2013 to 2024, and during this time, the combination achieved tremendous success.

Hamilton first became a two-time champion in 2014, and from that point onward, the squad and the team went on a dominant run that saw the driver win six titles in total with the team. After Hamilton lost the title in 2021, there was a dip in the kind of cars Mercedes was able to give the driver.

The team won only a single race from the 2022 to 2023 period, and in essence, that triggered Hamilton's departure from the team as he tried to explore his options. The driver announced in early 2024 that he would be moving to Ferrari in 2025. What followed, however, in his last season at Mercedes was a bit underwhelming.

Lewis Hamilton was comprehensively outperformed by Mercedes teammate George Russell in his last season with the team. There were a few high points but there were low points as well that included getting outscored by Russell. Talking to RacingNews365, Toto Wolff was somewhat defiant as he said that Hamilton's time with the team would be remembered for what he'd already achieved with the team in the last 12 years. He said:

“You see those very bad races, clearly he wears his heart on the sleeve. You express your emotions and that's absolutely allowed. It's OK. Nothing is going to take away 12 incredible years with eight constructors’ and six drivers’ championships."

He added:

“That is what will be in the memory. We’re going to look back at this great period of time, rather than a season of races that were particularly bad. We will stay with the good memories.”

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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have done a good job managing the split

Talking about how both the driver and the team have managed the split, Toto Wolff felt that both parties had done a good job managing it. Talking about how Lewis Hamilton's departure now means that the team's future is with Kimi Antonelli, Wolff said (via RacingNews365):

“To be honest, with all of us together, Lewis and the team, we've done a good job of that [dealing with the split]. Because when he took the decision at the beginning of the season to go, we knew it could be a bumpy year ahead."

He added:

“It's very normal. He's knows he’s going to go somewhere else. We know our future lies with Kimi and then to go through the up and downs and still keep it together between us, I think that is something we have achieved.”

Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari in 2025 means it would be the first time in his F1 career that he would have a non-Mercedes engine at the back of his car. Considering the kind of legacy he's had, it would be interesting to see what the next chapter is for the Brit.